Bill would turn state into Wild West: James Gill

Well over 800 people are shot to death in Louisiana every year -- our per capita rate always makes us number one, or close to it -- but some of our legislators refuse to sit back and do nothing. They figure there's still not enough gunfire around here, so they propose to block pretty much any controls. A bill filed by Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, with several co-sponsors, would call an election to amend the Constitution and make Louisiana as wild as Tombstone, Arizona in its heyday.

Michael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans police officers investigate the shooting death of a man earlier this year. More than 800 people are shot to death in Louisiana every year.

The states with the most shootings also have the laxest gun laws, which the Violence Policy Center by no means regards as a coincidence. But even Louisiana's feeble attempts to limit the mayhem evidently strike Riser et al as overly intrusive.

The state Constitution currently says the right to "keep and bear arms shall not be abridged" except through laws that "prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person." Riser's amendment removes the concealed-weapon exception and guarantees a right to "acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer and use arms."

Baffled voters are a common sight around polling stations when constitutional amendments are on the ballot, and there will no doubt be much head-scratching over this one, which requires the courts to "apply a strict scrutiny standard" to gun regulation. That is the most rigorous of legal tests; it imposes on government an obligation to show that a challenged law is vital to a "compelling" public interest. All voters need to know is that this amendment will gladden hearts at the National Rifle Association.

The concealed-weapon law is of limited value anyway, since a permit to carry one is easy to obtain. But, if you can't be bothered to apply for a permit, you can always just stick a rod in your waistband and stroll down the street. Imagine you are on the way to the O.K. Corral. There is no law against carrying unconcealed weapons.

The cops may not know that, so don't try it. You can't be convicted under a law that merely bans "the intentional concealment" of a weapon on your person, but rodded-up dudes tend to attract attention, and you will almost certainly get arrested. Cops, in any case, may find another offense to book you with. Being right brings limited consolation once they take you to the lock-up.

Right now, it is not legal to take a firearm everywhere. Schools are off limits, for instance, and you are not supposed to pack heat in bars. In fact, by entering a bar in Louisiana you consent to be searched for guns without a warrant, should a "person vested with police power" be so inclined. The law requires bar owners to post a sign to that effect at or near the entrance. Diligent research has revealed that this law is widely flouted.

Felons lose the right to bear arms for 10 years, but that's about as far as Louisiana is prepared to go in limiting Second Amendment rights. Registration and licenses and all that fiddle-faddle are alien concepts in Louisiana, where almost half the households contain firearms. Fair enough. Nobody in Louisiana, or America for that matter, needs to be told, as Riser's bill has it, that the right to bear arms "for defense of life and liberty and for all other legitimate purposes in fundamental."

Rights are not absolute, however. The senators who think this one more or less should be are, naturally, all country boys; the view in New Orleans might be that we already have quite enough guns on the street. It is hard to imagine that Police Chief Ronal Serpas or DA Leon Cannizzaro will be off to Baton Rouge to lobby on behalf of Riser's amendment.

But there may not be much point in lobbying against it. Not to be gung-ho for guns is regarded as un-American in some parts of the state, where everyone knows that guns don't kill people.

But the number of people they don't kill in Louisiana will surely go up if this amendment passes.

Correction: Sunday's column said that criminal court judges in New Orleans cancelled a supplementary health insurance policy last month. The cancellation occurred last year.